hive

HIVE

In 2023, Hive (human interface for virtual evolution) is an augmented-reality technology that consolidates an individual's devices and technology into a holographic visual display that is projected from their mind. Millions connect and become a collective consciousness, while The Disconnected are left in its wake; forced to adapt to a primitive lifestyle in the outskirts of Hive cities. Conflict is inevitable, however the reality behind Hive may be even stranger than anyone realized. Propolis follows nine-year-old Samantha Plessis, as she witnesses her family opt-in to beta testing this new product to receive health insurance benefits to treat her immune disorder. Since her disease prevents her from connecting to Hive, she becomes gradually alienated by her family whose method of communication is now changing. Hive is a science-fiction transmedia project told through a series of books, films, social media and real-world interactive events. This six-part novella series is the main narrative. The story takes place from the year 2023 to 2050.

All It Takes Is The Right Story. Mythos Media

Fantasy Sci - Fi Creative Commons Setting

Though it is still in development, the "world setting document" for the Altaeron fantasy / sci-fi setting has been opened to the public to explore - and possibly contribute to.

Check Out The Google Document.

Astute readers may notice that all of Mythos Media's fictional work thusfar constitutes a sort of repository of ancient pre- pre- history for this genre-blending setting. 

[Take a Trip with us... Mythos Media.]

Reincarnation into Computers: Cylons?

six-three-eight who do
we appreciate

He doesn't outright say it, but it's an amusing thought that the Dalai Lama believes in the premise behind Cylon resurrection  In the 'new' Battlestar Galactica, humanoid cylons are immediately reincarnated in a new, identical body so long as they are within range of resurrection ships. This was one of the many conceits used by the writers of that show to introduce cosmological and theological concepts, along with other philosophical quandaries, into a "sci fi" setting so as to produce a truly Modern Mythology.

Of course there's a big difference between attributing such things to the theoretical consideration of Maybe, and thinking of them as material Necessity. A point made within the Immanence of Myth is that thinking of them as either is exactly the same, however much different a bash over the head and evil thoughts may be at the surface.

But of course there are less literal ways that we can interpret ressurection.
In the cosmological sense, it takes on a different meaning:

How do we make the leap from one to the other? I honestly have no answer there, though I'm curious to see what others think on that. 

There is a sneaky danger that lies between the two -- what happens when someone believes that thought and matter are identical twins -- ... 

[Where is the fucking counterculture? Mythos Media.]

Participants Wanted for the Transmedia Revolution!

Hello everyone!

For those of you who have been following my posts here for the last few months, you may have noticed I've been talking a lot about how technology has transformed the publishing industry, and how transmedia storytelling has broken down the barriers between a story and it's audience.

But I haven't really gone into the specifics about how this can be put into practice. There's been a lot of talk about transmedia storytelling, but very few good examples of what the medium is truly capable of.  People and publishers have folded their arms, and decided to "wait and see."

And I don't blame them.  

After all the talk about ground breaking-this, cross platform-that, and immersion-everything, not much has really happened, has it?  There's been a lot of smoke, but no one has lit a match.  

That's about to change.  It won't be long before you'll be participating in a story instead of reading it.  How do I know?

I'm going to help make it happen.

Do I have some amazing new browser plug-in?  Some sort of new transmedia authoring platform?  A storytelling social media network, perhaps?

Nope.  (People always seem to get hung up on the technology...)

The technology of the written word changed how stories were delivered, but not how they were created.  It's the same thing with e-books, film, and television...they are all different methods of delivering the same fictional drug.

It's the story that's important.

What's the difference between slapping a button on a coke machine, and visiting a barista at your local starbucks?

Puff the magic dragon by Ahnamal

A can of soda will always taste the same.  A caramel-pumpkin-spice-mocha-latte with a dash of cinnamon and whip, tastes a lot different if you have him add a splash of pickle juice.

There's only one way to have it your way: ask for it.

Here at Modern Mythology, we know that storytelling isn’t passive.

A good storyteller must actively engage their audience.  A story should be tailored to whom it’s being told to, not diluted and homogenized just to make it more appealing to a potential audience of millions.

The goal of a story should be to make people think, feel, and help them blink away their pedestrian view of the world.  A book or movie should draw you in, engage you, make you a part of it--not run you over.

Films shouldn't blind people with cinematic eye candy, and books shouldn't hypnotize them with pages of sex and violence strung together with a meaningless plot.

But they do, and they will continue to do so, because that's the easiest way for Hollywood and publishers to get your money without you noticing.

It doesn't have to be this way.  Really.

(Unless you're into that kind of thing.)

From the Origin of Life to 2012: Pseudoscience on the Loose

By Prof Rowan

Have alien bacteria fossils been discovered in a meteorite by a NASA scientist?

*drumroll please*

NO!

Recap: On Friday night the “Journal of Cosmology” published an article entitled “Fossils of Cyanobacteria in CI1 Carbonaceous Meteorites: Implications to Life on Comets, Europa, and Enceladus,” attributed to one Richard B. Hoover of the NASA/Marshall SFC [1], claiming such a discovery. Extraordinary claims, however, require extraordinary evidence, which is nowhere to be found in the paper. While I am trained in and have worked in scientific fields, I am admittedly not a scientist, so I refer you to the blogs of PZ Myers [2], David Dobbs [3], and Rosie Redfield [4] for detailed analysis/straight-up debunking. In sum, per Redfield: “Executive Summary: Move along folks, there's nothing to see here.”

Look, there's nothing wrong with alternative theories – and certainly nothing wrong with leveling a critique at the scientific establishment – provided that they are supported by data and arguments that meet the epistemic criteria for scientificity. Even then, to propose an alternate theory of the origin of life is to propose a new creation myth – and as such any denunciation of the mythic nature of the consensus theory/narrative also denounces itself. And the “journal” in which Hoover's paper appeared is rife with them – whether in articles or in press releases.

So. When the controversy erupted, I found myself less interested in this article and its claims than in the “journal” itself. First red flag: the “Journal of Cosmology” is only published online on amateurish site that looks like GeoCities circa 1997 – just like every kook and conspiracy theorist's site. Second red flag: they claim to be a legitimate, peer-reviewed academic journal – and yet they demand a $35 “processing fee” to “cover costs for processing and managing the peer review process” as well as a $150 “article publication fee.” [5] No legitimate journal charges ANY such fees. Furthermore, their submission guidelines require authors to list five scientists who would be qualified to review the submitted paper. Again, unheard-of – and even more suspicious. Need I go on?

Clearly, there is an agenda. A little research into the panspermia creation myth led to the discovery that its chief proponent, Fred Hoyle, rejected the Big Bang on the same logic as his rejection of abiogenesis. Which leads me to an essay (if it can be so called) on the “Big Bang myth,” or “Big Bang Theology” that argues for an eternal universe in which black holes, which the author prefers to call “gravity holes,” recycle the universe ad infinitum. [6] Sure, the Big Bang is a modern creation myth. Big deal. However, Occam's Razor dictates that Conformal Cyclic Cosmology or a Big Bang-Big Crunch cyclic model would be vastly preferable – as infinite time infinitely multiplies entities! There are so many misunderstandings and misinterpretations of relativity, physical cosmology and even fundamental physical concepts such as inertial frames, that one doubts that the author – one Rhawn Joseph, PhD (Emeritus of the “Brain Institute” - address: Northern California (can you be more vague?)) – had any credibility before reading this joke of an article.

Does this man look like he's about anything but self-aggrandizement?

Of course, our buddy Rhawn was the first to defend Hoover's argument in a “Commentary,” which concludes: “There is no evidence life began on Earth. Life was present on this planet from the very beginning. Life on Earth has a cosmic ancestry. The preponderance of evidence demonstrates life on Earth, came from other planets. Our ancient ancestors journeyed here, from the stars.”

Why is it no surprise that a simple google search turned up an intriguing connection between this debate, ostensibly over cosmic and biological beginnings, and the only apocalyptic scenario today that is at once both more absurd and more popular in our culture than the Zombie Apocalypse: the 2012 “end of the Mayan calendar” phenomenon. The following video appeared under the by-line of Rhawn Joseph, PhD and his "institute."

To be continued... (Also see this previous post on conspiracy thinking by James Curcio.)

Fallen Nation 2nd edition released in time for the Holidays.

(This message was previously sent to a list of individuals through private email. I wanted to make most of it public, since I almost without a doubt forgot some people that I wanted to get it to.)

After months of wandering around in a caffeinated haze with crumpled manuscript in tow, inadvertently alienating friends, and keeping my editors up well past their bedtimes, the second edition of my novel Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning is complete. This edition is 16 pages lighter, even after the addition of the 8 page black and white CC "Welcome To The Apocalypse" comic. Most of what went was dead wood. In the process the structure was re-worked somewhat.

I had a lot of outside editorial input, from readers, from people I've worked with in the past, but I have to say that the edited copy that Jason Stackhouse gave back to me was the most useful- that is, what I could read through the smears of Chinese food and pages of red lines and chicken-scratch. Thanks for not kissing my ass, Jason.

So, why am I contacting you? You either asked to be notified, or are a past friend, accomplice or associate that I thought should be notified. This is not part of a mailing list, it is a one time only email, so you do not need to hunt around for the "DO NOT WANT" button. But I do hope you take the time to read this letter, this project is going to be quite a trip.

As many of you know, we're now living in a time when it has never been easier to produce independent media (which is not to say that it is easy), but it has probably never been harder to sell it. At least not in the substantial quantity required for sustainability. So, this is likely going to be an uphill battle for Mythos Media (www.mythosmedia.net), one which could benefit from your help. For the creatives amongst you, we can offer some support in return. (More on that in a second.)

Here are some of the ways you can become an "early adopter" and still keep your day job and/or cherished addictions:

* Enjoy and share the prologue podcast: That's what it's there for. This podcast contains original music and readings by P. Emerson Williams (Choronzon) & Tara Vanflower (Lycia.) It is released under a creative commons license, which means it can be added to other people's podcasts so long as it is included in its entirety. If you or people you know run podcasts, feel free to use it for that purpose, to fileshare it, or freak out your friends by playing it for them once you've gotten them so drunk they can barely walk. (It's a pretty creepy episode.)

If you like what you hear, you'll be happy to know that we are going to be producing the entire book as an audiobook of this nature. Keep an eye peeled on Alterati.com, we'll be releasing episodes as they are produced.

* Put the Fallen Nation banner on your website, blog, etc. The code is:

{a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fallen-Nation-Babylon-James-Curcio/dp/1419672657/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/102-4077266-8569725?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187938907&sr=8-2 " target="_blank"}
{img src="http://www.joinmycult.org/media/fallennation/fn_top_banner.jpg"}
{/a}

(Replace with proper HTML 'carrots.')

* If you are also engaged in clusterfucks such as myspace, facebook, etc. refer your friends to the book. This can be done through a bulletin, or through applications on facebook such as Visual Bookshelf. Applications such as bookQube provide other means of sharing your readings preferences with others.

* If you have friends in the press, distribution, or media production as I know some of you do, send the electronic press kit their way. It is online here, and contains art, and excerpts from the first chapter and RealitySandwich interview.

* Blood sacrifice. I'm not going to give instructions here but I'm sure "Witchcraft for Dummies" has all the information you need. Every drop counts!

* Add tags or put up a review on the Amazon page.

* If you can make use of them, I can provide full color 4x6 Fallen Nation fliers to you. Just email me privately with your mailing address and I will have them shipped.

* Feel free to forward this message to others you know who would be interested in this project.

For fellow independent producers & artists in this list, my hope is we can continue to create a network here. One step in that direction has been alterati.com, which you should check out if you're not familiar. (We've interviewed some of you there in the past year.) If you are presently working on a creative or cultural work and would like press, contact me regarding that. The united we stand divided we fall cliche has some validity when it comes to independent media.

Finally, some of you have asked me this question, so let me answer it... This is indeed the edition of the book that we will be offering for a while, and later editions will simply contain very minor revisions (such as typos that invariably popped up in the process of fixing the typos in the last edition.) It is available now through amazon.com & for order through bookstores. In store distribution is pending a positive sales response through the Internet.

Most of all, I hope you enjoy the book.

Happy Holidays-
James Curcio.